Transport Minister: $2bln invested in Azerbaijan's transport sector

So far, about $2bln was invested in the Azerbaijani transport sector with a view to its development, Azerbaijani Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov said at the meeting of the second working group n development of road transport of goods to Afghanistan through the Caucasus that takes place in Baku today.

"The country works to develop all sectors of the economy. In particular, the country's transport sector was invested $2 billion," he said.

According to Mammadov, the country works hard to develop transport infrastructure, in particular, work on the construction and reconstruction of roads is underway in the country. Azerbaijan participates in the creation of a new Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which will promote the development of the TRACECA transport corridor.

The global financial and economic crisis has shown the importance of uniting the cooperation of the international transport organizations and financial institutions to develop the transport sector, he said.

A new 105-kilometer railroad is planned to be built within Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project. About 76 kilometers will stretch via Turkey, 29 kilometers - via Georgia. Moreover, a railway section Marabda-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi will be reconstructed to increase capacity up to 15 million tons of cargo per year. Construction on the Georgian territory is financed by the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan. It is financed by a loan allocated to Georgia to the amount of $ 200 million.

At present the TRACECA member countries are Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Moldova, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey and Ukraine, as well as Iran.